Scientists from the Bangladesh Oceanographic Research Institute (BORI) found three coral-rich sites in the Bay of Bengal and one coral reef site. A new species of soft coral has been identified among coral sites near St. Martin’s Island that could lead to the development of drugs used to treat cancer, said the study’s principal investigator Md Hasibul Islam, BORI’s scientific director.
Researchers of Bangladesh Oceanographic Research Institute (BORI) found three sites in the Bay of Bengal, which are rich with coral and one site for coral reef.
Among the coral sites, they identified a new soft coral species near the St Martin’s Island that could contribute to pharmaceuticals for cancer treatment, said principal investigator of the research Md Hasibul Islam, the principal scientific officer of BORI.
Besides using the coral for medicinal purposes, the new discovery brings new hope to contribute up to Tk 114 crores per year to the blue economy from marine tourism for snorkeling diving, photography, and videography, he added.
He presented their research to the Annual Research Results Presentation Seminar at BORI campus today.
In another research, a total 131 crab species were identified by the Bori researchers. Principal investigator of the research Md Tarikul Islam, senior scientific officer of the institute said among the species, five are commercially being used as sea food in Bangladesh.
A research on seaweed analysed the approximate composition of seaweed, nutrient content and antioxidant status, which will help to understand the value of seaweed for human health.
Abu Sayeed Muhammad Sharif, senior scientific officer BORI, said they worked with 10 commercial seaweed in the research.
He said they are working to produce seaweed through tissue culture commercially, which will contribute to the blue economy.
Fifteen researchers were present at the daylong seminar chaired by commodore Md Minarul Hoque, director general of BORI.
Md Mokabbir Hossain, senior secretary of Ministry of Science and Technology, and Rear Admiral Md Khurshed Alam, member, board of director of BORI and president of National Oceanographic and Maritime Institute also spoke on the occasion.
